Colletotrichum higginsianum extracellular LysM proteins play dual roles in appressorial function and suppression of chitin-triggered plant immunity

<p>The genome of the hemibiotrophic anthracnose fungus, Colletotrichum higginsianum, encodes a large repertoire of candidate-secreted effectors containing LysM domains, but the role of such proteins in the pathogenicity of any Colletotrichum species is unknown. Here, we characterized the function of two effectors, ChELP1 and ChELP2, which are transcriptionally activated during the initial intracellular biotrophic phase of infection. Using immunocytochemistry, we found that ChELP2 is concentrated on the surface of bulbous biotrophic hyphae at the interface with living host cells but is absent from filamentous necrotrophic hyphae. We show that recombinant ChELP1 and ChELP2 bind chitin and chitin oligomers in vitro with high affinity and specificity and that both proteins suppress the chitin-triggered activation of two immune-related plant mitogen-activated protein kinases in the host Arabidopsis. Using RNAi-mediated gene silencing, we found that ChELP1 and ChELP2 are essential for fungal virulence and appressorium-mediated penetration of both Arabidopsis epidermal cells and cellophane membranes in vitro. The findings suggest a dual role for these LysM proteins as effectors for suppressing chitin-triggered immunity and as proteins required for appressorium function.</p

Search for the Θ+\Theta^{+} pentaquark via the π−p→K−X\pi^-p\to K^-X reaction at 1.92 GeV/cc

The $\Theta^+$ pentaquark baryon was searched for via the $\pi^-p\to K^-X$ reaction in a missing-mass resolution of 1.4 MeV/$c^2$(FWHM) at J-PARC. $\pi^-$ meson beams were incident on the liquid hydrogen target with the beam momentum of 1.92 GeV/$c$. No peak structure corresponding to the $\Theta^+$ mass was observed. The upper limit of the production cross section averaged over the scattering angle of 2$^{\circ}$ to 15$^{\circ}$ in the laboratory frame was obtained to be 0.26 $\mu$b/sr in the mass region of 1.51$-$1.55 GeV/$c^2$.The upper limit of the $\Theta^+$ decay width using the effective Lagrangian approach was obtained to be 0.72 MeV/$c^2$ and 3.1 MeV/$c^2$ for $J^P_{\Theta}=1/2^+$ and $J^P_{\Theta}=1/2^-$, respectively.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Prediction of Anisotropic Single-Dirac-Cones in Bi1−x{}_{1-x}Sbx{}_{x} Thin Films

The electronic band structures of Bi${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_{x}$ thin films can be varied as a function of temperature, pressure, stoichiometry, film thickness and growth orientation. We here show how different anisotropic single-Dirac-cones can be constructed in a Bi${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_{x}$ thin film for different applications or research purposes. For predicting anisotropic single-Dirac-cones, we have developed an iterative-two-dimensional-two-band model to get a consistent inverse-effective-mass-tensor and band-gap, which can be used in a general two-dimensional system that has a non-parabolic dispersion relation as in a Bi${}_{1-x}$Sb${}_{x}$ thin film system

Esrrg functions in early branch generation of the ureteric bud and is essential for normal development of the renal papilla

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUTs) are common disorders of human development affecting the renal parechyma, renal pelvis, ureter, bladder and urethra; they show evidence of shared genetic aetiology, although the molecular basis of this remains unknown in the majority of cases. Breakpoint mapping of a de novo, apparently balanced, reciprocal translocation associated with bilateral renal agenesis has implicated the gene encoding the nuclear steroid hormone receptor ESRRG as a candidate gene for CAKUT. Here we show that the Esrrg protein is detected throughout early ureteric ducts as cytoplasmic/sub-membranous staining; with nuclear localization seen in developing nephrons. In 14.5–16.5 dpc (days post-conception) mouse embryos, Esrrg localizes to the subset of ductal tissue within the kidney, liver and lung. The renal ductal expression becomes localized to renal papilla by 18.5 dpc. Perturbation of function was performed in embryonic mouse kidney culture using pooled siRNA to induce knock-down and a specific small-molecule agonist to induce aberrant activation of Esrrg. Both resulted in severe abnormality of early branching events of the ureteric duct. Mouse embryos with a targeted inactivation of Esrrg on both alleles (Esrrg−/−) showed agenesis of the renal papilla but normal development of the cortex and remaining medulla. Taken together, these results suggest that Esrrg is required for early branching events of the ureteric duct that occur prior to the onset of nephrogenesis. These findings confirm ESRRG as a strong candidate gene for CAKUT

A family of oxide ion conductors based on the ferroelectric perovskite Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3

Oxide ion conductors find important technical applications in electrochemical devices such as solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), oxygen separation membranes and sensors1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) is a well-known lead-free piezoelectric material; however, it is often reported to possess high leakage conductivity that is problematic for its piezo- and ferroelectric applications10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Here we report this high leakage to be oxide ion conduction due to Bi-deficiency and oxygen vacancies induced during materials processing. Mg-doping on the Ti-site increases the ionic conductivity to ~0.01 S cm−1 at 600 °C, improves the electrolyte stability in reducing atmospheres and lowers the sintering temperature. This study not only demonstrates how to adjust the nominal NBT composition for dielectric-based applications, but also, more importantly, gives NBT-based materials an unexpected role as a completely new family of oxide ion conductors with potential applications in intermediate-temperature SOFCs and opens up a new direction to design oxide ion conductors in perovskite oxides

Non-host resistance to penetration and hyphal growth of Magnaporthe oryzae in Arabidopsis

Rice blast caused by Magnaporthe oryzae is a devastating disease of rice. Mechanisms of rice resistance to blast have been studied extensively, and the rice–M. oryzae pathosystem has become a model for plant–microbe interaction studies. However, the mechanisms of non-host resistance (NHR) to rice blast in other plants remain poorly understood. We found that penetration resistance to M. oryzae in multiple mutants, including pen2 NahG pmr5 agb1 and pen2 NahG pmr5 mlo2 plants, was severely compromised and that fungal growth was permitted in penetrated epidermal cells. Furthermore, rice Pi21 enhanced movement of infection hyphae from penetrated Arabidopsis epidermal cells to adjacent mesophyll cells. These results indicate that PEN2, PMR5, AGB1, and MLO2 function in both penetration and post-penetration resistance to M. oryzae in Arabidopsis, and suggest that the absence of rice Pi21 contributed to Arabidopsis NHR to M. oryzae

Search for the pentaquark at J-PARC

We have been searching for the Θ^+ pentaquark via the π^−p→K^−X reaction at the J-PARC hadron facility. No peak structure was observed in the missing mass spectrum obtained at 1.92 GeV/c beam momentum. The upper limit for the production cross section averaged over the scattering angle from 2° to 15° in the laboratory frame was derived to be 0.26 μb/sr. In order to make a more stringent constraint we have also performed a measurement at 2.0 GeV/c. Present analysis status of this new data is reported

High-resolution search for the Θ+\Theta^{+} pentaquark via a pion-induced reaction at J-PARC

The pentaquark $\Theta^+$ has been searched for via the $\pi^-p \to K^-X$ reaction with beam momenta of 1.92 and 2.01 GeV/$c$ at J-PARC. A missing mass resolution of 2 MeV (FWHM) was achieved but no sharp peak structure was observed. The upper limits on the production cross section averaged over the scattering angle from 2$^{\circ}$ to 15$^{\circ}$ in the laboratory frame were found to be less than 0.28 $\mu$b/sr at the 90\% confidence level for both the 1.92- and 2.01-GeV/$c$ data. The systematic uncertainty of the upper limits was controlled within 10\%. Constraints on the $\Theta^+$ decay width were also evaluated with a theoretical calculation using effective Lagrangian. The present result implies that the width should be less than 0.36 and 1.9 MeV for the spin-parity of $1/2^+$ and $1/2^-$, respectively.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures; published versio